


A Neglected Perspective

by uknguyen18



Category: The Sisters Grimm - Michael Buckley
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 22:21:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15519900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uknguyen18/pseuds/uknguyen18
Summary: Set a while after the epilogue of the Sisters Grimm series, this follows Emma in her struggle of being ignored as the youngest sibling. What happens when she's thrown into the Everafter world because of her family's kidnapping?That was a crappy summary but I wrote this about a year ago and it's not terrible so I'm posting it because there's not enough Everafter stuff.





	1. Happily Never After

Bustling students surrounded her. They made her nervous already. Behind her, her mother squeezed her shoulders, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t reassuring that her mother was just as nervous as she was.

“Mom, I’ll be fine,” the girl reassured her mother. “It’s just school. I’ve survived school, so far. Besides, I'm a big girl now.”

She put on a brave face for her mother, like she always did. The girl even chuckled a little bit, but cut short at the sight of her mother’s face. She was aghast. The girl regretted saying anything. She should know better, with the conditions her family was under.

“Let’s just check you in, and then we’ll head to your class,” her mother said with a quavering voice. “Your father should already be waiting for me in the car.”

The girl’s father had taken her older sister to her school, while her mother took her to hers. It was a strange system they had, switching which parent took which child each year. It might have been because her parents always quarreled over trivial things, although their marriage was fine.

When they got to the classroom, her mother turned to her and told her firmly, “You’re older now, and you need to be strong. The phenomenon with Allison is a family secret. As long as you stay focused on your studies, you should stay safe.”

The girl nodded. She remembered her parents’ lecture about staying out of Everafter affairs. Until she had powers, or was anything like her sister, she was told that it was too dangerous for her to meddle in at the moment.

“Don’t worry, mom,” she said exasperatedly, “I’ll be fine. I know the family rules.”

Her mother smiled at her words. “Good girl,” she said, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Have fun at school, Emma!”

With that, her mother walked away, leaving young Emma to enter the loud classroom behind her.


	2. Old Friends

It had been almost three years since her older sister sprouted wings, and Emma Grimm had never felt more neglected by her parents. They weren’t doing it on purpose, but Emma didn’t know what to do without her parents around anymore.

Her father, Robin Goodfellow, had taken to training his eldest daughter in the ways of Faerie and her job as the crown princess of the Faerie kingdom. Her mother, Sabrina Grimm, had taken to training her eldest daughter to be a fairytale detective and how to protect herself from different types of Everafters. Even Emma’s aunt, Daphne Grimm, visited Allison to teach her how to use magical items.

To say the least, Emma didn’t feel loved. When she asked why she wasn’t getting any training of any sort, she was always given the same answer.

_ The training that Allison is undergoing is for a dangerous lifestyle. Maybe when you’re older, you can learn how to do all these things. _

Aunt Daphne  _ did _ look at her sympathetically, remembering when she was younger and was ridiculed for not being old enough to participate in the family business. Daphne later discussed this with Sabrina, who said she’d rather wait until Emma was done with middle school before starting any training.

Emma still couldn’t help but feel as if she’s being held from this giant secret that everyone is let in on, excluding herself. It wasn’t until one day that Emma had to finally break the rules her parents set for her.

Her principal entered the room with a strange, yet seemingly familiar, woman following him. She was dressed in a white blouse that was covered with a black cardigan, and a black skirt with red polka dots on it. Adorned on her legs were a tinted black pantyhose, her feet covered by shiny, red wedges.

Emma was mesmerized. This woman looked like something straight out of a fairytale. Her hand itched for a pen or pencil. Over the past couple years, the young girl had taken to writing and wanted to write everything she saw. Right now, was one of those moments.

“Alright, you little squirts,” the principal boomed, his voice shattering the ears of every child in the small classroom. “This is going to be your new teacher, as Ms. Tike ran out of our lives screaming about demon children.”

Emma’s peers giggled at the memory. They’d all managed to drive their old teacher insane. Emma, however, had tried to stay out of the unnecessary cruelty as much as she could.

The principal rolled his eyes at them. “Now, children, your new teacher isn’t as much of a wuss as your old one,” he continued. “She’s much more sophisticated and even more experienced. If you manage to drive this one away, you’re going to have to deal with me as your teacher for the rest of the year.”

“That won’t be necessary,” the new teacher reassured the principal. Her voice was smooth and regal, a hint of an accent embedded in the tones. “I’m tougher than I look. Some measly children won’t frighten me.”

Emma was getting chills from this woman. She didn’t see anything obviously wrong, but the woman scanned the room from time to time as if she was looking for something distasteful. She unsettled Emma, but Emma couldn’t figure out why just yet.

The principal grinned sheepishly at the woman. If Emma squinted, she could’ve sworn her military-esque principal was blushing. “Well, you seem to have it all under control,” the principal stated, not even bothering to look away from the woman, “I’ll just be back in my office. Don’t hesitate to stop by anytime you like.”

The woman nodded and pretty much shooed the doting man out of the classroom. She did try to do it sweetly, but that man was not one to budge. The children watched in amazement at this strange woman, who so easily wooed their principal.

Emma didn’t pay attention. She’d already grabbed her notebook and pen amid the strange occasion. She couldn’t care less about the affairs within the school. They didn’t pertain to her, and she could be doing better things.

The new teacher was just about to begin class when she noticed one of her new pupils with their head down. She was slightly angered that a child was already distracted on her first day on the job. The woman just  _ knew _ that this child would be her biggest nuisance.

“Young man, what do you think you’re doing?” she asked in her posh voice.

The whole class snickered, causing Emma to look up at the noise. She looked around, trying to figure out what they were so amused about, but for the life of her, she could not. Emma then looked in front of her to notice the new teacher looking at her pointedly.

“I must’ve been mistaken,” the woman said. “I figured with that haircut and those clothes that you were a boy.”

The class giggled at her remarks, yet again. Emma blushed when she realized that the woman was talking to her. It was the first time that a teacher had actually called her out, and she had been called a  _ boy _ !

The woman, ignoring the feedback she was already getting on her first day, walked towards the dry erase board positioned at the front of the class. In swift movements, the woman wrote “Mrs. Hart” on the board in perfect cursive. The class sat in awe of her skill.

Emma, if she had not been embarrassed by this woman moments ago, would have envied her penmanship. However, she was still embarrassed, and knew that she would grow to loathe Mrs. Hart. Maybe Emma could model an antagonist after her, and her spontaneous cruelty.

“Now, children,” Mrs. Hart began, “this is a fine example of what  _ not _ to do.”

The students giggled again, seemingly enjoying Emma’s misery. They weren’t usually like this, which struck Emma as odd. Mrs. Hart was affecting the children in so many negative ways.

Mrs. Hart grinned maliciously. Emma had a feeling that she wouldn’t like this school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> definitely not spamming updates because I have like 5 chapters written ((:


	3. Troublesome Teen

It had been months since Emma started the school year, and with each passing day, Mrs. Hart found a new way to torture her. Frequently, the ten-year-old girl found herself rushing to her room right after school. She would write the rest of the day away, ignoring the loud noises of her mother and sister sparring.

Emma was hesitant to share information about the cruel and sadistic Mrs. Hart with her parents. She knew something was wrong with the teacher, but she couldn’t quite explain it. Emma was afraid her parents would just ignore her thoughts, or even ridicule her. Telling her parents were an option that she wasn’t very open to.

So, her life continued. During the day, she would suffer Mrs. Hart’s cruel and unusual torture, that was only aimed at her, and at night she would go home and suffer being neglected by her family. That was her usual routine.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. Her peaceful, yet dreadful, routine was shattered one night during dinner. It was one of the only times when the entire family was together in one room. Oft times, Emma’s father would be in Faerie because of some conflict, or her mother would be working late on a case between Everafters. Tonight, was an exception.

Allison started it all with a simple statement. “I’m going with Parker to prom.”

Puck, as he’s been going by since Allison sprouted wings, dropped his fork. Sabrina just looked up from her food in surprise. Emma continued eating, wishing that the conflict was just going smoothly pass over her family.

Unfortunately for her, Puck was upset with this development. “You’re not going to prom,” he said, his face red. “I won’t let you go with that scoundrel.”

Allison rolled her eyes, a habit that reminded Sabrina of herself when she was younger. “Dad, you can’t stop me from going to  _ prom _ ,” she argued. “That’s like stopping me from the entire high school experience.”

“I do what I want,” Puck retorted. “You’re my daughter, and I’m not allowing you to go to prom with  _ Parker. _ ” The boy’s name was said as if Puck wanted to bomb the boy with his glop grenades and pull pranks on him that were much worse than what he did to Sabrina when they were younger.

Sabrina was gradually waking from her silent shock. “Ally, are you  _ sure _ you want to go with Parker?” she asked, her voice soft. “He’s broken your heart more times than your father has turned my hair green.”

“Mom, I love him,” the 17-years-old said. “Even if he breaks my heart, we were meant to be. Besides, weren’t there times when you and Dad hated each other?”

“That’s different,” Sabrina said, her voice growing firmer with each word. “Your father pranked me every week since the day I stepped foot into your great-grandmother’s house. This boy has broken your heart in every which way, yet you still go back to him.” Sabrina was slowly getting angrier and loud. As a lawyer, she knew how to argue a side and win; she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Why don’t you just go with one of my guards?” Puck suggested hopefully. He knew that Allison had befriended some of them during her time training in Faerie. “What about Tidal?”

Allison looked down and stabbed her food angrily. “Tidal smells funny,” she grumbled. “Why can’t I just go with Parker?”

Emma finished her food, but she thought it was inappropriate to leave during this argument. She felt awkward and weird. Is this what it feels like to be adopted?

“He’s no good for you,” both of their parents said.

Sabrina sighed. “You’re not going with him,” she finalized. “You’re not allowed to date him either.” With that, she got up and collected Emma’s plate on her way to the sink.

“WHAT?!” Allison exclaimed. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t just  _ not allow _ me to date the love of my life! You barely even pay attention to what  _ I want _ !”

Emma almost laughed at the irony. At least Allison even got any attention at all. The younger Grimm girl got up from the table and pushed her chair in, prepared to leave the teenage-angst scene.

“Emma,” Allison called out, “don’t you agree that Parker is the best thing that’s ever happened to me? You understand me, don’t you?”

Emma froze. She hadn’t even been acknowledged the entire dinner. Being called out like this only reminded her of Mrs. Hart’s class.

The ten-years-old turned around, facing her family. They all looked at her expectantly, waiting to hear what side she was on. Allison was looking at her with threatening eyes, silently saying that if she didn’t agree then she was going to regret it.

Emma sighed. She no longer cared about her older sister’s threats.

“Logically,” the young girl started, shoulders slumping, “mom and dad are much wiser when it comes to these decisions.” Her parents beamed. “But,” Emma continued, causing her parents look slightly disappointed, “mom and dad have no idea what Allison thinks or is feeling.” It was her sister’s turn to beam.

Emma turned and began to walk away. She didn’t give a clear answer, but did provide them with half of her opinion.

“Emma,” her mother called out, “you never said who’s right.”

Emma turned back around. She sighed. “You both are correct,” she stated, “but both of you are also incorrect. To be completely correct, you three need to talk out your opinions and discuss your reasons for your actions.”

The three seemed surprised at the young girl’s opinion. When did their little baby get so wise?

Emma was finally able to escape to her room. Just before she closed her door, sealing her away in solitude, she shouted down the hall, “I also think that Allison could do so much better than Parker! HE ISN’T EVEN THAT CUTE!!!”

She closed the door as fast as she could and locked it. She knew that her older sister would come up and try to fight her for what she said. At least she’d be able to get a little writing done before her untimely death.

Emma wanted to figure out more about Mrs. Hart. What if she was an Everafter? Who could Mrs. Hart possibly be? She listed out the characteristics: cruel, sadistic, likes red hearts.

She couldn’t possibly be the Queen of Hearts. Her mother told Allison and her about the Everafter War, one of the only things related to Everafters that her parents told her. In her tale of the war, Sabrina told the two girls that some of the last casualties had been caused by their great-uncle Jake, who, in his anger, killed the Queen of Hearts and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Who else was cruel and sadistic?

What if she was the princess from the Maid Maleen story? Then again, she was pretty confident in herself and hadn’t sent an assassin to kill anyone yet. Besides, Emma really doubted the prince would’ve let the princess live after she tried to kill his bride.

What if she was the nurse from Princess Rosette’s story? There wasn’t much of a description of her, but it was a nasty thing to throw a princess into the ocean. Would a nurse like red hearts? It would make sense because nurses are a kind of medical worker and might deal with hearts. It was a long shot, but Emma wrote her down.

Emma almost considered Baba Yaga, but her mother told her that the old hag doesn’t like children. Baba Yaga would never teach at a school full of children. At least, she wouldn’t be able to teach at a school full of children without killing them a couple times.

The girl sighed. She was a bit frustrated with everything right now. Mrs. Hart was giving her a hard time, and Allison was taking advantage of her parents. She could only hope that everything turned out fine.

Emma got ready for bed. While she was falling asleep, she couldn’t help but wonder when she would get her Everafter powers, if she was going to get any. She could only dream.


	4. Cataclysm of a Doomed Life

Emma woke up to an explosion. She couldn’t help but think,  _ this is how a fiction novel starts the rise of action isn’t it? _

She raced out of bed, wanting to witness the protagonist do something really cool, assuming that the protagonist was her sister. Why wouldn’t it be Allison? She had the Faerie powers, she had the problem with their parents, and she had to fight for her love. Although you had to warp it a bit, Allison would be a great protagonist.

“EMMA?” her mother called out. “Where are you, baby?”

Emma coughed and tried to reach where her mother’s voice was coming from. “MOM!!!” she screamed wildly. She was blinded by the smoke everywhere. “Mom, help!”

The smoke stung her eyes. It snaked into her lungs, making it harder for the young girl to breathe. She covered her mouth with her shirt, knowing that she would soon pass out due to smoke inhalation soon.

She heard the strangled cries of her parents, causing her to move faster. Even if Allison  _ was _ the protagonist, Emma was determined to at least try to save her parents. She wanted to cry out again, but when she opened her mouth all that came out was coughing.

Suddenly a light shone through the smoke. Emma was almost grateful. She hurriedly rushed towards the light, happy that she finally found an end. The light was blinding, but so was hope. It was only too late when she saw the carnivorous grin the bearer of the light wore and her family bound to chairs.

Emma didn’t have time to react before someone knocked her out.

\-----

When Emma woke, she didn’t even want to close her eyes. She had the feeling that one would get when the woke up, but didn’t want to get out of bed. Emma kept her eyes close in hopes of being able to go back to sleep. Hopefully her headache would be gone by then.

It wasn’t long before her stomach caught a foot. She cried out, not quite registering the pain due to the fact that she was still drowsy. Emma was more surprised than she was in pain.

“Looks like our little princess is awake,” an eerily familiar, male voice sneered. “Mother, what shall we do with her?”

A low snicker erupted from her left. Emma gradually lifted her head, trying to put a tough face on. She would face these conniving pair on her own terms, even if she was seemingly tied to a chair.

Her hair shielded her eyes from the light that shined above her. She couldn’t see the face of her captor; it required her to lift her head too high. She could just make out the torso of her captor and confirmed that he was definitely male. There was another, to her left, but Emma couldn’t make out what they looked like from her peripheral vision.

Emma was abruptly jolted forward as someone grabbed her chin and yanked her upwards. She was blinded by the sudden exposure to such a bright light. Nails dug into her chin, causing her to scream out even more.

Tears sprung from Emma’s eyes. Her vision cleared a little bit more, and she could just make out the heart-shaped face of a person she’d come to loathe. Of all the people to have kidnapped her, it  _ had _ to be the one that hated her the most, didn’t it?

“Mrs. Hart, what a lovely surprise finding you here,” Emma said through gritted teeth. She had learned a bit sarcasm from Allison. “You look pretty young, but might I remind you that the government banned school corporal punishment in the 20 th century.”

She spat in Emma’s face, not bothering to respond to the witty child. “Emma, you’re just like your mother when she was your age,” Mrs. Hart tossed Emma’s head to the side and began pacing, “and I want to kill you as much as I wanted to kill your mother when she was your age. It’s such a pity that I have better plans for you. Grimm’s always seem to have power that they don’t deserve.”

Emma glared at her. As much as she hated people monologuing, this did give her a little time to imagine her way out of this situation.

To review, Emma was bound to a wobbly, wooden chair by a very secure rope tying her hands behind her back. There was a boy around Allison’s age standing off to the side, at the edge of the light. Mrs. Hart was continuing her little spiel, giving Emma the advantage of time.

A plan began to formulate in Emma’s mind. Never has Emma been more envious of Allison’s training. Fortunately, Emma watched some sessions and picked up a couple things.

While Mrs. Hart’s back was turned, Emma ran towards the boy. Just as she calculated, the boy tried to reach out the grab the chair, tilting it so that Emma could kick the two front legs off the unstable chair. The young girl twisted her body to bring the chair to snap the back legs as she reached for the legs that had already broken off.

Emma then sat down, placing her feet onto the seat of the chair. She broke the seat off, thus breaking the back in half so that her arms were free, but still tied to two wooden planks.

By now, Mrs. Hart was screaming her head off. The boy tried to fight back, but all males have weaknesses, and Emma exploited his. The ten-year-old could hear footsteps pounding against the ground, and decided it would be best if she found a place to hide before she was extremely outnumbered.

Wielding two chair-legs, Emma ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had no idea where to go, but she knew that stopping was an even worse idea than getting lost. She ran, taking turns at random, until she couldn’t hear the footsteps of whatever forces Mrs. Hart has.

That’s when Emma knew it was best until she hid. She glanced at the wristwatch her mother bought her for her 9 th birthday.

The wristwatch was quite normal, except there was a small circle on the face that rotated. The circle was divided in half, one side depicting a sun and the other depicting a moon. It differentiated the time of day it was. Emma had never needed this aspect of her watch but it was nice to have it now.

She read the clock and estimated that it was around 9 at night. Emma, being the insomniac bookworm she was, was used to staying up late. It was a habit that would definitely come back to bite her, but it was aiding her now.

Looking around in the room she hid in, she figured it was someone’s bedroom. The room seemed to not have been lived in recently. It did have personal belongings of the room’s owner, but Emma could sense the dust everywhere. It wasn’t good for her allergies, but she’d just have to deal with it. Hopefully she’d be fine.

But, as it has recently, Emma’s luck gave out, and she heard footsteps approaching. The young girl wasn’t completely sure that they were going to the room, but she dove under the bed anyways. It was better safe than sorry.

A light streamed into the room as the door opened, illuminating the floor. A sigh was heard as a pair of green shoes made their way across the room. Emma’s heart pounded in her ears.

The shoes went into an adjoining room that Emma hadn’t noticed. The girl let out a sigh that she didn’t know she’d been holding. She inched closer to the middle of the underside of the bed. Getting caught was not an option.

Unfortunately, it was dark under the bed, and Emma couldn’t see where she was scooting. Her elbow hit a button of sorts. Alarmed, her mind screamed millions of gibberish prayers to gibberish deities. She couldn’t decipher anything that was going on except panic.

Much to her surprise,  _ A Thousand Miles _ by Vanessa Carlton started blaring out of the radius of where Emma hit the button. Laughter was just threatening to crawl out of her body. The sense of panic was quickly replaced with humor, like a push of a button.

Emma didn’t even notice it when a door swung open, lightly tapping the wall adjacent to it, or when the green shoes she saw earlier approached. It was only when the owner of those green shoes yanked her out from under the bed when she realized the imminent peril she was in.

“Oh crap,” she swore as her wide, green eyes met glittering, hazel ones.


End file.
